This one's about unemployment, so I figure it relates to our current assignment.
Here's the link:
http://www.pictorymag.com/showcases/summer-jobless/
These two are my favorites from the set.
I love the composition and the mood of this one. Also, the perspective is awesome. It's a simple photo, but yet I find it really interesting. The window framing the guy, the motion of the hair being blown by the fan, all add to the artistic elements of the photo. It really portrays a feeling of being carefree, rather than the bleak, depressing feeling most people associate with unemployment.
Again, a simple composition, but interesting. The color of the chair pops out in a totally awesome way. I'm really taking a liking to the whole vibrant colors that pop out in photos, since I started looking at Chip's work.
The image kind of portrays a sense of having all the time in the world, but not much to do as a result of being unemployed.
Mike, I have looked at these photos many times but have not made up my mind about how I feel about them. I do like the details you pointed out about both of them but I also feel like neither of them is all that informative. They may actually be somewhat inflammatory.
ReplyDeleteI am currently unemployed. The nice thing is that it allows me to go to school. The bad thing is that my unemployment benefits are essentially ending and there is a lot of fear involved with how I am going to pay my bills this month and avoid becoming homeless with no job in sight. I have not experienced the "carefree" aspect you say is depicted here and therefore do not find the photos very realistic based on my experience. My unemployment period has been a mad scramble to get in as much school as possible so I can get the best job I can as soon as possible. My own experience and fears are significantly coloring my perception of the photos.
After that long story, I think the most interesting question about the photos you posted is if the photographer needs to take viewer perception into account when they make a photo that is intended on one hand to be artistic and interesting but on the other hand informative and practical?
How does a population that is struggling with unemployment respond to photos like this? Do unemployed people get upset? Do people paying taxes think unemployed people are all lazy slackers getting benefits to work on their suntan? Does this make the photo more or less newsworthy? I do not know.
I see what you mean, Andreas, and agree to an extent. I also think this is where the caption comes into play. For instance, the girl sitting in the lawn chair talks about how she only goes to class two hours a day in the summer, yet can't find a job or afford to get out of the city. As she puts it, she's "stuck spinning her wheels."
ReplyDeleteAnd there were other photos in this set that showed the more bleak outlook in the photo too, I just found these two to be an interesting take on unemployment.
After having second, third and fourth thoughts on the subject, I think Jerome would say that my initial reaction is exactly why the photos are newsworthy, and at this point, I agree. Captions would be very important for these photos as they really do not say much by themselves. They are still good photos that show an unusual twist on the typical scene.
ReplyDelete